The present invention relates to devices, methods, and compositions for cleaning surfaces within a person""s mouth.
It is well known that solutions containing baking soda or other abrasive materials serve as excellent media for cleaning teeth. There are many known devices which provide delivery of such solutions for purposes of oral hygiene. These devices are typically large complicated systems intended for professional use in a dentist""s office. The terms xe2x80x9csolutionxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9ccleaning fluidxe2x80x9d will be used interchangeably within this description and the appended claims to refer to any fluid, suspension, or slurry that may be used, as the application dictates, for cleaning a surface.
The invention provides an apparatus designed to pump an appropriate amount of solution into the mouth of a user in order to clean teeth and to recycle that fluid for its reuse by an individual. In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, the apparatus includes a base component and a head component, attachable to each other to form a hand-holdable unit, a flexible membrane, and a pump drive mechanism. The pump drive mechanism is disposed within the base component and drives the flexible membrane in such a manner as to impel a cleaning fluid toward a surface and to return the cleaning fluid from the vicinity of the surface to the head component.